The new all-time leader in New Jersey high school baseball coaching victories almost never became a coach at all some four decades ago.
In 1967, Tony Ferrainolo, who was a standout athlete at Memorial High School in his heyday, had just completed his athletic career at Villanova University, earning a degree in economics and accounting.
“I had a couple of offers from some accounting firms in New York,” Ferrainolo said. “But Tommy Roberts was the football coach at Memorial at the time and he told me that they had a teaching opening in business and an assistant coaching job for football. I didn’t know what to do. The New York job was going to pay me $12,000. The teaching job was for $5,400 and another $300 to coach. I decided to give the old teaching and coaching gig for just a few years, to see how I liked it. Forty-four years later, I still haven’t made it to New York. I don’t know if the offer still stands.”
Ferrainolo also became an assistant baseball coach and a few years later, he was both the head football and baseball coach at his alma mater.
“All the things I said to myself back then still remain,” Ferrainolo said. “It’s not about the money. I never worried about the money. I just loved the coaching. I loved the teaching. It’s what I had to do and it’s stayed with me for my entire career.”
Last Tuesday, Ferrainolo’s Memorial team traveled to Bayonne to face Marist, but he wasn’t able to go. He’s battling cancer, a rare form of lymphoma. He’s been weakened by a strong regimen of chemotherapy that has limited his coaching appearances to just six this spring.
But he’s still the head coach. The Tigers are his team. Assistant coaches Jack Nagurka and Danny Marroquin – guys who once played for Ferrainolo – have been running the club in Ferrainolo’s absence.
Tuesday, the Tigers defeated Marist, 6-5, in eight innings, giving Ferrainolo the 753rd victory of his coaching career, breaking the state record for coaching victories set by Morristown legend Harry Shatel.
Ironically, Shatel just passed away May 1.
“He left this earth with the all-time record,” Ferrainolo said. “Harry passed the torch to the next guy. I feel bad for Harry and his family.”
Incredibly, one of Shatel’s 752 wins came at the expense of Ferrainolo.
“It was about six years ago in the [NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group IV] title game at Indian Hills,” Ferrainolo recalled. “And we lost, 2-1. After the game ended, the kids were shaking hands and we were heading toward the bus, when I spotted Harry running across the field towards us. He came over to shake my hand, congratulate me and said that our team played very hard. He said, ‘You’re a good coach.’ I said, ‘I appreciate that coming from you.’ He was a gentleman.”
Although Ferrainolo wasn’t able to attend the record-setting game, his players made sure he was a part of it.
“Jack called me from the bus and said that the kids wanted to come to my apartment,” Ferrainolo said. “I told him then he was responsible for what they did to the apartment.”
One by one, the players filed into Ferrainolo’s home, with wife Anne nearby. They offered a handshake or a hug to their coach, then stood in a single line to hear their coach’s words.
“It was really good and really emotional,” said Ferrainolo, who was the head coach in 1988 when Memorial won the national championship. “I was filled with emotions. That’s the type of kids they are. To see them all walk in and act like that proved to me that these are great young men and I’m proud to coach them. They obviously learned something in life, hopefully from coaches like me. It really was an emotional time.”
Ferrainolo said that the stream of congratulatory calls, texts and e-mails have not stopped since the record victory was secured.
“There are so many players that I’ve coached who have contacted me,” Ferrainolo said. “Every one of them means so much.”
Ferrainolo has two more rounds of intense chemotherapy to undergo, then he will have a stem cell transplant surgery in a few weeks, using his own stem cells.
Later this week, Ferrainolo planned on being in the third base coaching box once again.
“I’m looking forward to getting back on the field,” Ferrainolo said. “I enjoy it so much. I want to be there. I love the game so much. I hope I get better, because I want to have a few more years to collect a few more W’s [wins].”
Here’s to hoping that Ferrainolo makes a full recovery and the 800th win milestone is on the horizon…
Here’s the remarkable feat that comes with Ferrainolo’s record. Hudson County can now claim the all-time leader in baseball wins (Ferrainolo), boys’ basketball (St. Anthony’s Bob Hurley), girls’ volleyball (Guttenberg native Maria Nolan) and No. 3 in football wins (North Bergen’s Vince Ascolese). That’s some litany of great coaches….
North Bergen native Steve Mocco is apparently intent on making it back to the 2012 Olympics in London.
The nationally ranked heavyweight wrestler won the gold medal at the Pan American Games last weekend, one of only two Americans to win titles at the games held in Rionegro, Colombia.
Mocco won the gold medal at the Pan American Games for the third time, also winning in 2006 and 2009. He competed for the United States in the 2008 Olympics.
Mocco dominated the competition in Mexico, winning all four of his bouts, including a win over Elier Romero of Cuba in the finals…
The website MaxPreps.com made an appearance at St. Anthony last Tuesday to present head coach Bob Hurley and the rest of the Friars the national championship trophy….
Hudson Reporter H.S. Baseball Top Five: 1. Union City (13-7). 2-Hoboken (10-7). 3. Bayonne (14-6). 4. Memorial (13-7). 5. North Bergen (12-7).
Hudson Reporter H.S. Softball Top Five: 1. North Bergen (18-1). 2. Hoboken (13-4). 3. St. Dominic (10-6). 4. Union City (12-4). 5. Secaucus (13-5)….—Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.